Beschreibung:

Abu 'Ali al-Husayn ibn 'Abdallah Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna, Al Qanun fi al'Tibb (The Canon of Medicine), in Arabic, decorated manuscript on paper [Near East, probably Jordan, or perhaps Jerusalem, mid-nineteenth century] 5 parts in 3 volumes, complete, 1282 leaves in total (being 342 in vol. I, 584 in vol. II, 356 in vol. III ), single column, 27 lines black naskh with headings in black or red, a few diagrams in the text, a few later manuscript inscriptions or annotations to margins in blue, overall exceptionally clean and crisp condition, contemporary ink ownership stamps to titles, belonging to Malik Al-Qas li-Bas[?] Sonbol, 295 by 195 mm.; contemporary red morocco bindings, ruled in blind and tooled with provincial Byzantine stamps, contemporary paper labels pasted to spines identifying the parts in each volume, slightly rubbed and a few light scuff marks, overall excellent condition A handsome manuscript set of Avicenna's Qanun fi al'Tibb bound in 3 volumes and containing the complete 5 medical parts of the text. The generous spacing and clear headings present in the volume suggest it was probably used as a reference tool, and the exceptionally clean condition indicates that it was most likely used in an academic environment instead of a medical practice by working physicians. The absence of a colophon makes this manuscript rather difficult to place, however the use of what is evidently Egyptian paper alongside Byzantine leather and tooling in the bindings, suggests that this was compiled in the eastern Mediterranean. The script is relatively informal and thus probably copied in a provincial area of Jordan or perhaps somewhere near Jerusalem, the latter a hub for medical studies and the natural sciences in the region. For an example of the first printed edition of this work, see lot 28.